WATERBURY — Damian Saunders sure doesn't look hurt. But when you're on the outside cusp of the NBA, when you're a guy not expected to secure a spot with a team, the simplest of issues is enough for a team to cut you loose.

Such is the case with Saunders, the former Crosby High and Duquesne University star. Saunders was recently in Las Vegas trying to get some run with the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA Summer League. He wound up with what he called a "simple bone bruise" on his knee.

And that was that.

So Saunders returned home to Waterbury to play in the Greater Hartford Pro-Am Summer League at Crosby. He made his debut with Harte Nissan on Monday night. On Wednesday night, he scored 18 points to help Harte to a 120-117 overtime victory over Cambyland. He knows the NBA isn't likely to come calling in the near future, so he's back home to mull things over and work toward the slightly more distant future.

"I'm here to stay in shape, work on my game and work toward playing overseas," said Saunders, sporting a New Orleans Pelicans basketball T-shirt. "I got hurt in Vegas and they decided to let me go, which wasn't really a surprise. I'm going to keep working, though, and hopefully I'll get to the league someday. That's the goal."

Saunders teamed with older brother Dale and another Waterbury native, Kelvin Davis, to help the Ryan Gomes-less Harte team to an entertaining, if sloppy triumph. Davis finished with 29 points to lead Harte.

A plethora of offense is not Saunders' calling card and never really has been despite the 1,164 points he scored at Crosby. He's a defense-first kind of player as evidenced by the fact he was named the Atlantic 10's Defensive Player of the Year in 2010. He is the only player in NCAA history to record at least 250 career steals, assists and blocked shots.

The defense was on display Wednesday night. He sent a number of Cambyland shot attempts back to their origins and rebounded just about anything that was within his reach.

That's the kind of stuff that kept him in the NBA Developmental League last year, splitting time between the Sioux Falls Skyforce (Miami Heat) and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston Rockets). The year before, just after graduating from Duquesne, Saunders played in Germany.

More than likely, he's headed back overseas for the coming season. He has offers from teams in Finland, Greece and Italy, and is awaiting a couple of other offers. Italy is where the best money is, but Saunders is ultimately looking for the best situation to get him some NBA notice.

"Italy pays the best, but it's not about chasing the money right now," Saunders said. "I want to get into a good situation where I have some exposure and teams are able to see what I can do. I think I need to show more offensively because I am a defensive guy. Offense is what I need to work on."

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